


fundamentals of dating

by joshriku



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Dating, Fluff and Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:00:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25216636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshriku/pseuds/joshriku
Summary: One simple game of Never Have I Ever ends on a date.
Relationships: Kiryu "Joshua" Yoshiya/Riku (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 19





	fundamentals of dating

“I don’t know. We shouldn’t be playing this,” says Neku. “None of us ever do shit.”

“It’s a sleepover,” Shiki says, stubborn. “You’re supposed to play Never Have I Ever.”

Riku leans over to Joshua. “Never have I ever?”

“It’s a game, pretty simple. Each player holds either ten or five fingers, taking each turn to say something they have never done. You put your finger down if you have, and so on. It usually serves as a drinking game, but for us, I suppose it’s a standard procedure to break the ice.”

“No ice breaking here, since we already all know each other,” Neku continues explaining, “we’re just doing usual sleepover things now. Who starts?”

Rhyme claps. “I will! Never have I ever… cheated on a test.”

Riku watches as Neku and Beat put a finger down. He hasn’t cheated on a test, ever, but maybe because he’s been avoiding school ever since he turned fifteen. Maybe he would’ve cheated.

Shiki chuckles, “Neku, I didn’t expect that from you!”

“W-well,” Neku looks flustered. Riku can’t help the short laugh. “I don’t like studying history.”

“Of course,” Joshua rolls his eyes. “You never were the one to respect the depth of Shibuya.”

“Hey. I care _now._ Present history. Why should I care for old writings?” Neku shrugs. “Could write an essay about CAT. Or the story of CAT.”

“Embarrassing.”

“Hey, fuck you—”

“I don’ believe for a second Riku hasn’ cheated,” Beat finally accuses Riku, who has, in fact, not put a finger down. “Really?”

“Well, uh, I haven’t actually been to school since I’m fifteen, so…”

Joshua raises his eyebrows. “Highschool dropout?”

“I guess?” Riku hasn’t really stopped and thought about it. “My world disappeared. Went to war and stuff. I didn’t have time to go to school.”

“You’re lucky,” Rhyme sighs, and the blunt honesty makes Riku laugh again. “I like school, but homework is so boring…”

Everyone laughs at that. Rhyme is _so_ cute, Riku has come to consider her a younger sister by now. Neku is up next. “Never have I ever been arrested.”

He’s looking directly at Joshua, like he’s expecting him to put a finger down. Joshua smiles in all his smug glory, as he keeps all his fingers up. Riku puts a finger down and suddenly all eyes are on him.

“… Riku?” Shiki asks, confused, “What did you do?”

“Um, well,” Looking back at the Grid, he wonders briefly how Sam must be doing. “I was a prisoner once.”

Joshua looks like he won the lottery. “Do tell us more! This is rather fascinating _and_ unexpected. Were you in jail?”

“Not really. Me and the other guy escaped before they did anything.”

“You _broke_ out of prison?” Rhyme exclaims, way too surprised. “Riku, you’re a punk!”

“How does someone like you gets himself arrested?” Joshua asks, still looking like this is the best day of his life. “What did you even do?”

“Exist. I just showed up at the wrong place at the wrong time.” Riku shakes his head, “I didn’t actually commit any crimes.”

“D’awww,” Joshua sighs. “Still, the fact that you broke out of prison? It _really_ made you at least ten times more charming.”

The weird compliment still manages to fluster Riku, especially because Joshua is sitting right next to him. His friends laugh at his reaction, and perhaps Riku should’ve known this was bound to create a chain reaction.

“Never have I ever not been on a date,” Shiki says. Rhyme, Joshua, and him are the only ones to not lower their fingers.

“Rhyme, thank God,” Beat breathes out.

“Huh!” Shiki continues, clearly pretending to not have anticipated this. “Joshua, Riku, why haven’t you been on a date?”

“Curious?” Joshua smirks. Shiki nods. “Not telling.”

“I was busy,” Riku explains. “And… nobody really caught my eye, so…”

“So someone catches your eye now,” Neku finishes for him. He’s wrong, anyway, but Riku still feels like he’s been seen through.

“Why don’t you go on a date with Joshua? Since both of you haven’t been on a date!” Shiki proposes happily. For a moment, Riku’s breath catches on his throat, as he hurries to take a look at Joshua. “Aren’t I a genius?”

“You clearly must have the wrong definition for the word genius.”

“Stop being rude. It’s _my_ house.” Shiki gestures at Riku. “Plus, he didn’t say _no.”_

Riku is sweating, figuratively. In reality, he tries to come up with another excuse for a Never Have I Ever. “Never have I ever been to only _one_ world.”

His friends immediately protest over how unfair that one was, because _they_ haven’t visited other worlds, and just like that crisis averted. Except, if he stops and pays attention, he can feel Joshua’s staring at him when he thinks no one else is looking.

Hm.

“So why didn’t you say anything last night?” Shiki asks the next day. Riku’s just here to help her out carry her bags with all her sewing kits. “Also, which fabric do you think is softer?”

Riku wishes he knew the name of the fabrics, but he still touches them. He hands Shiki the one he considers softest and mulls over her question.

“Well…” Riku starts, realizing he doesn’t know the answer himself. “I… panicked?”

“Ugh. Do you know how hard it is to set you guys up? Extremely so. The two of you are the two members of our gang who spend most time together— _and yet!”_

“We don’t spend _that_ much time together…”

Shiki’s glare is piercing through her specs. Was it just Riku or did the specs added extra emotion to anything she did? Either way, Riku chuckles nervously. “We don’t.”

“Mhm-hmm. Okay. And I was born yesterday. I think you’re so used to it, you just don’t notice.”

Was that true? Riku always thought he spent time with everyone equally. Maybe it was because the rest of them had a curfew and Joshua and Riku didn’t—that way, they were always ending the night together. Well, Riku also sleeps over at his place: he can’t remember the last time he came to Shibuya only for a few hours. It always felt like a short weekend trip rather than a simple visit. And… Riku rewinds back to Joshua acting as his tour guide and all the food places they’ve visited and countless of attractions they’ve been at. 

“… You’re right,” Riku says at last. “We do. I still think dating is a little hurried. I mean, I don’t think I’m in love with him.”

Shiki frowns slightly. “You don’t have to be?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Well, you _know_ you like Joshua,” there’s not really a chance to deny it. Riku himself hasn’t denied it for a while. “And… you know, that’s enough. Dating isn’t supposed to be that serious. Or do you think you have to be deeply in love and planning marriage to ask him out?”

“Oh, I…” Riku purses his lips. How did Shiki manage to make good points while deciding what color of threads to get? “Well, no… I didn’t know…”

“Riku, you’re like, eighteen. You’re supposed to have fun in dates.”

“So I can just ask him out?”

“Yeah! I’ve been saying!” Shiki finally lights up. Riku feels like she’s a kindergarten teacher getting a kid to understand a concept. “You could literally just stroll up to Joshua like, ‘hi, wanna go out?’ and if he does: problem solved! If not, well, you guys are still good friends. I don’t think anything bad would happen.”

All of Riku’s previous concepts of dating suddenly shatter into a million of tiny pieces. The hours he had spent working out the reasons why he and Joshua couldn’t date yet were… well, for starters, Riku had assumed the ‘wanting to be together forever and their destinies never untangle from each other’ was a little too intense for the time being. As of now, Riku’s thoughts about Joshua seemed to be, _He’s cute. He makes me laugh. I’d like to hold his hand and keep him laughing._ Nothing too intense to do something extreme like sharing a paopu fruit.

“Oh, then… I think I’ll ask him out today?”

Shiki laughs. “You’re so funny. Aren’t you going to spend the night at his place again?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s almost like you’re already dating him. Can’t wait to see you guys be sappy,” Shiki grins brightly. “So, anyway, let’s keep moving.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

  
  


“Thank you for taking care of our guest,” Joshua says and it’s a slightly funny situation: Riku is swapping friends like he’s a kid being picked up by different people. “I’ll be sure to take good care of him now.”

“I’m sure you will,” Shiki winks. “Have fun, you two!”

They both wave at Shiki while she walks back. Riku smiles at Joshua, and maybe he should’ve planned this, but before he knows it he says: “Joshua, want to go on a date with me?”

“Woah!” Joshua’s eyes bug out momentarily. It’s cute, Riku never is able to surprise him usually. “Talk about a greeting!”

Riku scratches his head, shy now. “Yeah, I probably should’ve added a build-up for that. I just talked to Shiki and decided to go for it, literally.”

“Shiki? She gives love advice?” Joshua shrugs. “You’d think she’d be dating Eri by now.”

“Huh? Shiki likes Eri?”

“...Isn’t it obvious?”

“News to me.”

“Maybe it’s good she’s the one giving you love advice,” Joshua shakes his head. “To answer to your question… yes, I’d like that.”

Oh. “Oh? Really?”

“Why would I say no?” Joshua looks up to him, smiling. “I’m not an idiot, Riku.”

“Oh, wait, so you…” Riku squints at him. “You like me?”

“I believe that’s the situation we find ourselves in,” he says. “You like me, I like you. We go on a date. Simple logic, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Huh,” Riku glances at him, then at the floor. “Yeah, that’s… the right way, I suppose. Um, do I have to do anything special now? I-I’m new at this.”

“Why don’t we figure it out as we go,” he offers. “Take it easy, Riku. And enjoy.”

“Yeah, okay. Sorry, I’m nervous. Where are we going, again?”

“Just to eat. Why, memory failing already? Do I make you that nervous?”

“Not in a bad way,” Riku finally smiles. It’s fine, this is Joshua. This is what they always do. “Lead the way.”

As they start to walk, Riku takes one look at his hand and blushes. Maybe he should take it? Swing their hands as they walk? Do you do that on the first date, or the second…? What are the norms of dating, anyway? Riku takes a small breath in and reaches out for Joshua’s hand. Joshua stiffens, just the slightest. Before he gets the chance to pull away and make a mental note that _nope, not hand-holding on the first date,_ Joshua tentatively laces their fingers together.

Riku can’t help it. He grins immensely. Maybe he should bring it up? Or maybe just let it flow? This is what people on a date do, isn’t it?

He takes a peek at Joshua’s expression, and he’s shocked to see him smiling, too. He was right. He should just take it easy. When has anything ever been hard with Joshua?

  
  
  


One of Joshua’s cutest habits is that he always has so much to say, it takes him ages to finish his food. Riku has learned the art of slowing down to eat, so he could always keep up Joshua’s pace, and not leave him to eat alone. 

“Can you believe that? Mr. H had the audacity to make me paint a mural, knowing fully well I am incapable of doing any sorts of art. Then he _laughed_ at how ugly my mural-flower was. How is that my fault, huh? Riku, it’s preposterous. Truly evil. I should have him reported.”

Riku laughs. “I bet it’s not that ugly. I have a friend who can draw pretty well, so I’ve tried doodling with her. And… I suck. I truly do.”

“Don’t we make quite a pair?” Joshua snickers. “Perhaps our next date should be at an art lesson.”

“Our next date?” he can’t help but blurt out. “You want another date?”

“Is it not obvious?” Joshua rubs his chin, staring at him curiously. “This date has been flowing smoothly, and so far, none of us have thrown a drink on each other. Why wouldn’t I want another one?”

“Oh, I guess that’s...true…” slowly, his smile spreads on his face again. “I’m glad it’s not one-sided. Are you really serious about art or are you just joking?”

“Who knows?” Smirking, he continues, “I’m not against it. I could make reservations.”

“Well, we have our next date settled!” Riku digs into his food, happier than before. Joshua chuckles at him, only deciding now to keep eating. “It’s weird. I don’t… feel any different.”

“Did you expect anything else?”

“Not really, but, you know. Movies tend to exaggerate about dating. This is comfortable, after I get over some nerves. It’s nice. Like nothing changed but at the same time, it’s kind of important? I’m not making any sense, sorry.”

“On the contrary, you make quite a good point,” Joshua says. “Why should people act differently only because they’re dating? My personality won’t suddenly do an 180 just because we happen to be dating now.”

“Me neither,” Riku says. Joshua seems pleased that he agrees, judging by the face he’s wearing—very satisfied. “I mean, I guess—I can hold your hand now, right? So… I don’t know, really. I guess we shouldn’t focus on the _changing_ part too much. Just go easy with it, isn’t that what you said?”

“Indeed. We should just enjoy it.”

Unable to let the opportunity to go by, Riku states, “I enjoy being with you.”

A fit of giggles escape Joshua.

“You talk big, don’t you?”

“It’s not talking big if it’s the truth!”

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t enjoy it either,” Joshua offers instead. Riku stops to absorb that sentence, replaying it in his head already. “Come on. Let’s keep eating.”

There’s _got_ to be a dopey expression on his face. “Okay.”

  
  
  


**[Shiki]:** so how did it go? did you guys have fun?

 **[Riku]:** Plenty :) Thank you, Shiki

 **[Riku]:** Joshua says you should use this energy on Eri too

 **[Shiki]:** tell him I say fuck you

  
  


—

  
  


A second date seemed super ominous. Truth is, even if Riku wanted to be casual about it, he still couldn’t help the worry hovering over his head. Was there a protocol? Some set of rules he should follow? What’s the right way to behave? Even if it’s meant to just be Joshua, Riku still wants to impress him, a little bit. It’s not a bad thing to want your date to be impressed by you. Sadly, not a single search engine had a guide on how to act, so Riku hovers Shiki’s chat too much.

He doesn’t want to bother her again, but he’ll explode if he doesn’t know what to do, or how to dress. Aqua notices his worry, because Riku has been spacing out for the past ten minutes, and she finally decides to give in her curiosity. “Riku. What’s wrong?”

“I, um, have a date later,” Riku replies, just as Aqua’s face brightens up. “I was just thinking about what I should do.”

“Oh? Who is it?”

“I’m not sure you know him…? His name is Joshua, he’s from another world,” he explains, “and I have no reason to be nervous, but… you know. Here I am.”

Aqua laughs, delighted. “You’re adorable, Riku. You’ll be fine. Should I let you go earlier so you don’t worry too much?”

“A-ah? You would? I mean, no, I can finish our training,” Riku hurries to say, a lot more flustered than before. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s fine, Riku! You’re a fast learner. I can let you go early,” Aqua assures him. “Go take a shower.”

It’s pointless to argue with Aqua. She’s far more stubborn than Riku could ever be. Well, better not waste any opportunities! It’s great that he brought his clothes with him, so he shouldn’t be wasting any more time. Plus, Riku hasn’t actually figured out the time difference between Shibuya and the Land of Departure, so—crap, he should be worried. He’s going to be late.

“Be right back!” Riku bolts out, but not fast enough to not hear Aqua laughing at him.

It’s fine. The real priority here is his date.

  
  


Riku emerges from the bathroom later, dressed up with his jeans and a button-up shirt—all courtesy of shopping with Shiki, of course. Aqua fixes him with a look. “Hey, nice clothes!”

“Thank you,” Riku smiles. “I should get going. I don’t want to be late.”

“I wouldn’t want to keep your boyfriend waiting,” Aqua says. “Riku. It’s good to see you worrying over things like a date—it’s nice to see you enjoying things you should at your age. You grew up too fast, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” Riku stops to think about it—he really did. He didn’t realize until Aqua said it: having something to worry about like a _date_ was so much better than worrying over wars. “Thanks, Aqua. I’ll be back!”

“Have a safe trip!”

Riku smiles while getting in the ship. It’s fun, having a date. He wouldn’t mind a third one. 

Joshua is already waiting for him once Riku finally arrives at their location. “Hey. You’re exactly five minutes late.”

“At least it’s not an hour,” Riku grins at him. “So. Art?”

Joshua smiles a lot more these days, Riku has noticed. Whether he has anything to do with it or not, Riku is just glad to see it. Easily, he slips his arm with Riku’s, causing his poor heart to start racing. Joshua _really_ knew second date behavior better than him. 

“So technically it’s _painting,_ and it’s one of those things where we’re in a team and have to paint the object in front of us. You can use your hands or whatever you want, the point is _winning.”_

Chuckling, Riku wills his heart to calm down. “Quite competitive, are you?”

“Are you not?”

“Oh, I am. Just didn’t expect you to be, too. Guess we got to be the best painters today?”

“Absolutely. The outcomes of this event totally decides our third date.” Riku tenses up slightly. “Riku. I’m joking. We’re going on a third date.”

“W-we are?”

“Why not?”

Now he’s all giddy. “Thank you.”

“You’re so weird, thanking me?” Joshua giggles, “I should be thanking _you._ Anyway, we’ll be late, so let’s start rehearsing our very eye-catching entrance so we’ll be excused, shall we?”

“Yes, sir!”

The actual challenge is to paint a bowl of fruits, and neither Joshua or Riku know how to paint them. They did pay attention to the lovely instructor, who was kind enough to say the key to this class was to have fun and so they shouldn’t worry about their art being pretty—and that’s so great, because it looks ugly as hell. 

“This is ugly as hell,” Joshua says out loud. Riku laughs at the timing. “Riku, we are not meant to be artists.”

The apple is so deformed, Riku feels bad for every single apple in the world. His hands are awfully filled with paint, even though Riku had tried to use a _brush_ instead of hands, and yet… His clothes are a mess, and if Shiki sees him, she will strike him down with no hesitation. Joshua is as dirty as he is, but he managed to get one spot of his cheek with yellow. 

Riku smiles devilishly. “Hey, Josh?”

“Mm?”

“You got paint here. Let me take it off,” and with his hand smeared in fresh paint, Riku cups Joshua’s cheek and makes a bigger mess. 

Joshua’s eyes go from confused to murderous, and before he knows it, he ends up with him flicking paint at Riku, which of course leads to a mess between them. Paint war only ends when the instructor, somehow still kind and lovely, forces them to step out to go clean themselves up. 

Riku has to _run_ away from Joshua. He knows murderous intent when he feels it!

They end up in the bathroom, washing everything off, with Joshua repeatedly trying to get his cheeks to be clean. “I’m going to have red cheeks for _days.”_

“Cute,” Riku says without thinking, and immediately tries to not panic about that. “T-the cheeks, I mean. Ugh, I have paint in my _hair._ Thanks a lot, Josh.”

“How is this my fault?! You started! I simply had to get back at you!”

Just because he can, he splashes some water at Joshua. The offended gasp that leaves him could have shocked even the scariest heartless. So of _course_ they start fighting in the bathroom, and of course they get kicked out of it, carrying their little fruit portrait with them. 

“… We look awful.” Joshua states, sitting down next to him on the stairs of the building. “Ideal second date, I’d say. Although, we did lose, so our third date is on thin ice.”

Riku turns to look at him. Joshua still has some faint paint on his face, and as the sun is nicely setting, it’s like the perfect image to stare at. All messed up and disheveled, Joshua still managed to be the prettiest person he’s ever seen. 

“I mean, you look beautiful,” Riku says. Joshua turns to stare back, confused. “Is that weird? You just look cute, that’s all.”

Joshua’s laugh is a little breathy. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

Before Riku continues, Joshua puts a hand on his shoulder and leans in, planting a short but sweet kiss on his lips. 

Riku is wide-eyed when they part, one step closer to losing his mind. 

“That was for the third date, but alas, I can’t help myself.”

“I...” Riku blinks at him. “Joshua.”

“Yeees?”

Riku has no words, really, so he drags him into another kiss again. 

“I believe we are being watched,” Joshua says, lowly. Riku immediately gets alert. 

“Trouble?”

“Worse. Our friends.”

Riku relaxes, but keep his eyes trained around their surroundings. Now that he’s aware, Neku and Shiki are clearly trying to hide behind their extra-large drinks. On the other side of the room, Beat and Rhyme think they are unable to be recognized if they take off their hats. Props to them, Riku had to do a double take after seeing them. 

“Any guesses on what they want?” 

“Probably just being nosy,” Joshua smiles. “I think discussing our date in the groupchat was a mistake.”

That’s Riku’s fault entirely for confusing their chats, but he’s glad Joshua phrased it like that, like he had any blame in this. 

“… Should we call them?” Riku asks. “It’s kind of weird if they’re staring.”

“Mm. I have a theory. If we act _really_ sappy, they’re definitely bound to go away.”

“I mean, third dates _are_ for acting sappy.”

“I see you’ve also done your reading.”

 _Also?_ Riku hadn’t said anything. So Joshua had used search engines for their dates, despite acting so calm and subdued the entire time? Riku had to laugh. Yet, fondness is stronger, as he leans over the table for the briefest kiss in the world. His face is red, but he’s laughing, and soon enough Joshua joins in, too. 

Maybe it’s with the excuse to scare off their friends that they end up holding hands on the table as they talk, waiting for their food, and before they know it—none of their friends are at the place anymore. 

“I want to get Shiki a gift, though,” Riku says, thoughtful. “She did make me ask you out. We wouldn’t be here without her.”

“Please. I would’ve asked you out eventually.”

Riku frowns. “No you wouldn’t.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Why didn’t you do it before me, then?”

As expected, no witty comeback. Riku smiles. “See? We do owe it to Shiki.”

“I suppose we do,” Joshua sighs, “even if it pains me to admit so. Isn’t our blooming relationship a gift?”

“We are in a relationship already?”

“It’s the third date, Riku. Didn’t you read? You’re at the boyfriend stage by then.”

“The boyfriend stage,” Riku repeats. Then smiles widely, turning redder by the second. 

“Now, I don’t know what happens after this date. The sites are surprisingly adamant about only telling you about the first three ones and nothing else.”

“Maybe it’s time we stop looking it up and actually just go with it,” he says. “I’m excited for what’s to come. I like you, you know.”

Softly, and probably softer than he ever intended it to be, Joshua says, “Me too.”

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thats my july serotonin fulfilled ^_^ thanks for reading


End file.
